Whaling is the act of hunting whales. This is customarily done with harpoons[?]. In previous times, the commercial exploitation of whales was a major business, supporting large fleets engaged in their pursuit. With the depletion of the stocks in recent times and general public disapprobation of the hunting of what are considered endangered species, coupled with an international moratorium, whaling is now only conducted by some aboriginal groups for cultural reasons, by Norway and Iceland, and by Japan, which calls it "research".